Page 1402 - Week 05 - Wednesday, 6 May 2015
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video
years. Per capita emissions have peaked. They peaked in 2005-06 and they are now lower than they were in 1990. So Canberrans today have a lower carbon footprint than they did in 1990. That is a very significant achievement and one the government is determined to build on.
As to jobs, it is very well worth highlighting that we see new businesses growing their presence right here in the ACT. Let me just give you one example, and that is the local company Windlab. Windlab is the winner of the Chief Minister’s exporter of the year award, a local business that is putting on more people here in Canberra, that is growing its corporate footprint here in Canberra. It is building its corporate footprint here in Canberra and it is running an anticipated investment, over the course of its feed-in tariff contract with the ACT government, of over $250 million. That is the amount of return we will be getting back into our local economy because of our renewable energy policies—just for that one company.
I could also mention a range of other important issues, but the jobs and the environmental opportunities are plain to see. (Time expired.)
MADAM SPEAKER: A supplementary question, Ms Fitzharris.
MS FITZHARRIS: Minister, can you tell us why it was important for you to attend the climate change meeting in Adelaide with state and territory leaders earlier this week?
MR CORBELL: I thank Ms Fitzharris for her supplementary. There was an important meeting earlier this week. I was pleased to represent the government. The South Australian Premier invited representatives from all jurisdictions to attend a meeting in Adelaide, both to discuss opportunities for state and city action on climate change and greater collaboration across jurisdictions and to hear from the executive director of the UN convening group on climate change negotiations, Christiana Figueres. She is the UN’s lead negotiator for the Paris conference. She was able to address ministers from four jurisdictions and officials from others, including the commonwealth, who attended to discuss how states’ and territories’ actions need to be recognised in the Australian government’s overall commitments that it takes to the Paris conference and also to discuss opportunities for collaboration.
I am pleased to say that out of that meeting there were some real and tangible steps that can give us greater opportunities to collaborate. The first is in the area of large-scale renewable energy, where ministers attending agreed to see how mechanisms like the ACT’s large-scale feed-in tariff laws could potentially be developed in a more collaborative way across jurisdictions.
That is good news. If we can get results on that then we can see more renewable energy delivered in other jurisdictions, as well as here in the ACT, and more growth in that very important and growing part of the economy. It also means, of course, that we can overcome some of the significant barriers that have been created by the Liberal Party federally, due to their opposition to the renewable energy target, and the enormous uncertainty and lack of investment that that has led to. (Time expired.)
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video